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Since the evolution of the Green Dragon Fruit, Kaido can cover his entire body with dragon scales, including his once unprotected chest and abdomen. Wherever there are scales, they provide invincible defense.
A broken sword and a claw, both wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and Emission, faced the cyan scales on Kaido's chest with full force. The impact of the collision caused Conqueror's lightning to flow wildly, and the air between them exuded a terrifying aura, even emitting dark spots as if the space itself had shattered.
The sea around the island below formed a large annular depression, with water continuously rolling up from under the sea and spreading outward, creating ripples. Dead fish floated to the surface. A seabird flying a thousand meters high stiffened instantly and plunged into the sea, causing a splash.
Dragon and Rayleigh stood tense, muscles strained and foreheads covered in veins. Their arms holding the broken sword and claw trembled because they could not afford to slacken even a bit. They could genuinely feel Kaido's flesh, not just Conqueror's air impact or Emission's hardness. Yet, despite their efforts, they couldn't shake Kaido's scales.
Cold sweat trickled down their foreheads; they puffed out their cheeks, faces red with exertion. But they couldn't harm Kaido's flesh at all. Quickly, Kaido picked up his mace and waved it at them briefly.
"Roaring Thunder Eight Trigrams!!"
"Back!!!" Dragon's eyes widened. He grabbed Rayleigh, preventing him from getting closer to Kaido's defenses. The wind around them intensified, swiftly carrying them away from Kaido's range. However, the mace moved faster than they had anticipated. The spiked mace loomed larger and larger in their eyes, making them feel incredibly slow in comparison.
Rumble!!!!
Two figures were knocked into the air, accompanied by a loud whistling sound, and fell towards the distant sea. At the same time, the broken sword completely disintegrated, its silver blade carried away like powder. The broken hilt slipped from Rayleigh's hand, tumbling wildly in the air. A dismembered arm, dripping blood from the root, spun several times before falling to the ground. It was the left arm of Dragon, the leader of the revolutionary army, the one he used to pull Rayleigh.
It seemed he helped Rayleigh avoid more damage. Kaido sneered. These people always try to save others before ensuring their own safety. However, they often pay a price beyond their imagination and endurance.
Vibrating the air under his feet, Kaido burst forth.
"Hancock!!" Rayleigh shouted in distress as he fell towards the sea. Bleeding from his arms, Dragon closed his eyes, frowning in pain, his left arm torn off and bleeding in the wind. The wind that had been supporting the three of them was weakening, barely sustaining them.
Rayleigh could only hope Hancock would keep fighting alongside them. If she didn't, it would be hard to confront Kaido with just the two of them. But Hancock remained silent, merely watching as Rayleigh and Dragon were flung away.
Nervously pinching her palms, Hancock couldn't decide who was more important to her: Luffy, Rayleigh, or the whole country. She had come to believe that this battle could not be won; it was a battle destined to be lost. Seeing Kaido's strength with her own eyes, she thought he was too powerful to be stopped. Not even three of them combined, let alone more, might succeed. She felt she must use the lives of the entire Nine Snakes tribe to resist Kaido.
"Luffy... What should I do?" she mumbled, her expression complicated. Her eyes showed despair, weakness, and confusion.
"Ahem..." Dragon coughed violently, blood spurting from his face. Protected by Rayleigh, he was hit hard. When Rayleigh pulled him away from Kaido, Dragon suffered even more. His left arm was broken, and almost all his internal organs were damaged.
Dragon squinted his eyes, barely focusing on Kaido chasing them. His vision blurred, he could only see a vague shadow. Enduring the severe pain, he asked Rayleigh, "Did he catch up?"
"Almost there, only twenty or thirty meters," Rayleigh replied. Glancing back, he roughly estimated the distance. "He's getting closer."
"Ahem... Enough," Dragon whispered. He released his strong eyelids and tried to sense everything around him with the wind. His only remaining right hand trembled as he pointed toward Kaido. An invisible swirling wind started forming between the sky and the sea.
"The dragon sucks water..." Dragon muttered weakly. Suddenly, the deep blue sea began to rotate at a sweeping speed. Fish trapped in the current moved along, and in a few breaths, a massive tornado thousands of meters high and tens of meters wide formed, connecting heaven and earth.
The tornado's surface was outlined with snow-white waves, shaping a sickle. Several torpedoes like this appeared, blocking Kaido and making way for Rayleigh and Dragon to escape quickly. Rayleigh looked at the gray clouds forming a swirling vortex, unable to hide his shock.
"It's much scarier than the natural disasters of New World," he said. Dragon opened his eyes again, looking at the scene he had created. "This is my last resort," he muttered, his face twisted in pain.
Just then, a strong dragon tail tens of meters long swung around, directly detonating a sea tornado. It stared at them with dragon eyes and rushed forward. Dragon's eyes narrowed, and he directed dozens of sea tornadoes toward Kaido. The sea rolled out earth-shattering waves.
But as if playing with a ball, Kaido's dragon shape exploded the tornadoes one by one, stopping none of them.
"Rayleigh... We can't win head-on," Dragon said, watching his strongest moves fail to break Kaido's defenses. No longer did he have any desire to fight hard.